Thursday, May 31, 2007

May 30th turned out to be the day the Hitching Ring across from City Hall was removed. I missed the event by just minutes. You can see a bit of the day-glow marking paint on a piece of the torn up curb. As promised the construction crew saved the ring.

Here it is! This ring is a little larger than the one in front of Racine’s.

This is the wood form that will be used when setting this ring back into the curb. It will help ensure the ring will be “below grade” and no longer a tripping hazard.

My neighbor mentioned he thought he saw a “square pole” at the former Glass Beach Dump. I hot-footed over there this morning and, by golly, he might be right! This one and another pole, snapped off just above the base, were obviously dumped here years ago.

This photo shows where the identification numbers were nailed on the side of the pole. The concrete this pole was set in is still around its base. Because of the way the pole angles out of the concrete I think it used to be located on ground that sloped. If anyone knows more about this I would appreciate it.

And finally...,

Because of my "Walking Fort Bragg" blog the "Fort Bragg Promotion Committee" became interested in what I have been noticing around Fort Bragg and asked me to put together a self guided "walking tour" brochure.

Here is the end result; a single page, two sided brochure. You will need Adobe Reader to view and print. Then fold it twice and bring it with you when you visit!!

Monday, May 21, 2007

The sun cleared the coastal hills at 6:12AM! Great lighting and it helped illuminate this very nice "water feature" someone has constructed in their front yard. There are several "water features" around Fort Bragg but this is one of the nicer ones I have spotted. Very musical too.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

"Son of famed mountain man Caleb Greenwood and his wife Batchicka, a Crow Indian woman. "Brit" Greenwood gave conflicting information about his age to census takers and voting registrars over the years, but evidently he was born between 1827 and 1830 somewhere in the Missouri River watershed.

"Like other rescuers of the Donner Party, Brit survived the terrible blizzard that halted the "Second Relief Party"at Starved Camp. His feet were permanently injured by frostbite.

"Afterwards Brit settled on the California coast in Mendocino County with other members of his family.

Most interesting having two people involved with the Donner Party, victim and rescuer, only about one hundred feet apart from each other.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Yesterday this “four way” cast iron fitting was discovered during some trenching on the Franklin Street Project. It was a corner “intersection” of the old water main; the “pipes” made of redwood!This morning I see the hitching ring across from City Hall has been marked for saving.

And, this morning I found the monument for a Mrs. Sarah A. C. Foster. I had been told that one of the survivors of the 1847 Donner Party tragedy was buried in Fort Bragg.

After a couple of weeks of asking around I was finally given a name. With further searching, via Google, I found a website with a wealth of information about the Donner Party.

On the monument it says:

Mrs. Sarah A. C. FosterA member of the Donner Party Born Nov. 24, 1825 Died Dec. 16, 1906

Monday, May 14, 2007

Monday morning and the coastal marine layer is in. Gray overcast, 42F degree temperature but I walk anyway, hoping for inspiration, waiting for my morning muse to arrive. And by golly, it does, two by two!

Saturday, May 12, 2007

While the ring’s “tie-down” was out of the curb I notified my metal artist friend Nick. He had offered to forge a new ring. Nick came into town and we walked around the streets of Fort Bragg looking at the other hitching rings to get an idea for the size of the new ring.

By evening Nick had blacksmith-ed a new ring, even quenching it in oil, the same as was done in “the good old days” for a preservative finish. Nick also came up with a wood pattern to use for making an inset for the ring to lay in; City Hall wanted the ring below grade so it wouldn’t be a tripping hazard.

During my walk, Friday morning, I stopped by Franklin Street and triangulated where the ring should be placed. I left a row of stones pointing to the location. During this process I discovered the new sidewalk will be wider than the old one!

At 8:30AM I decided I better check on Franklin Street and see how the concrete pouring was coming along. I rounded the corner by Sears and Holy Smoke! they were almost to THE SPOT!. Fortunately I had the ring and wood form with me.

I handed the ring and wood form over to the job foreman.

When the concrete was settled into the curb form he handed it to one of his crew who wiggled it into place.

About an hour later the "finisher guy" came along smoothing the curb and touched up the concrete around the ring and the form.

And now, here it is! They even formed a small “trench” for rain water to drain off so it won't rust!

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

I took a look at the Franklin Street project during my walk this morning at 6:45 AM. I figured it would take until about noon before they got to the ring in front of Racine’s.

Fortunately, the other day I had left my phone number at Racine’s with a note asking to be notified if it looked like the sidewalk was on the verge of being torn up.

At 9:00 AM, Racine’s called. “The ring is gone!”

I hot footed it down Laurel Street and took a look.

Sure enough. Gone!

I saw one of the construction guys and asked him what happened to the ring. He said they removed it early so it wouldn’t accidentally get hauled off in the dump truck. He said the boss has it but he is getting a tire fixed on his truck. “He will be back soon”.

I waited around and sure enough, here he comes around the corner in his truck. I ask him where is the ring.

“Oh, I gave it to Cindy.”

Who’s Cindy?

“The woman from City Hall.”

I go to City Hall and ask for Cindy.

“Cindy is out of her office. She is out in the field.”

Where’s that?

“Over there on the Franklin Street project”.

What does she look like?

“She is rather short. She is wearing a safety vest and a yellow hardhat.”

I zip back to the Franklin Street project and there is the boss and Cindy looking over some plans.

Where’s the ring?

Right here! Heh Heh!

So. This is what it looks like. Here it is placed beside a similar ring located across the street from the Golden West Saloon.

We are going to have a new ring forged for it before the new curb gets poured.

Monday, May 7, 2007

This was the first morning I didn't need to wear a jacket! 50 degrees and clear. The sun peeked over the coastal hills at 6:25 AM! Very nice!

I think this will wind up my Fort Bragg Fence Observations for a while.

This week the sidewalk with the tie-down (with the missing hitching ring) is being removed. I'm going to keep an eye out. The plan is to save the part from the concrete and have a local metal artist install a new ring into it before the new sidewalk gets poured. All of this may happen this week. Stay tuned!